A. Field of the Invention
The field of the present invention relates generally to apparatuses utilized for backpacking, hiking, camping and similar outdoor activities. In particular, the present invention relates to such apparatuses that are used in conjunction with cooking systems comprising backpacking stoves, pots and like equipment for heating food and liquids while engaging in such outdoor activities. Even more particularly, this invention relates to windscreens that are used to improve the use and efficiency of such cooking systems by improving the heat transfer from the stove to the cooking pot.
B. Background
Backpacking, hiking and camping are some of the most popular forms of outdoor activities engaged in by people throughout the world. In addition to the known health benefits that derive from the exercise resulting from engaging in these activities, those who backpack, hike and camp also get to enjoy the often spectacular views, cleaner air, exposure to animals and birds and the excitement resulting from exploring new areas. With regard to backpacking and hiking, as opposed to camping with a vehicle, the supplies the backpacker or hiker needs to enjoy his or her outdoor activity are generally carried in a pack on the person's back. Backpacking, which generally differs from hiking in that the participant will hike for multiple days requiring one or more nights in the outdoors, requires the backpacker to carry tents, sleeping bags, clothes, food and cooking gear. Those who have been backpacking overnight know that the weight of the gear required to backpack for multiple days can be somewhat significant. In fact, the amount of gear necessary for even a two to three day backpack trip can, depending on the weather and amount and type of climate-specific gear needed, result in a backpack that weights thirty, forty or even fifty pounds or more. Even day hiking, which does not require the sleeping bag, tent and related gear, can still result in packs that weigh twenty pounds or more. Unless pack animals are utilized, all this weight must be carried in a pack on the participant's back. Over the years, there has been an increasingly popular movement to reduce the weight of the gear necessary to comfortably enjoy oneself in the outdoors so as to reduce the weight of the backpack and, therefore, heighten the enjoyment level of the backpacker by reducing the strain on his or her body. In addition, with a lower weight pack the backpacker or hiker can generally travel further than he or she would be able to with a “full” weight pack.
One of the contributing factors to the weight of the pack is the need to carry equipment to cook food and heat liquids, including in some cases to boil water so as to make it suitable for drinking. Typically, such equipment includes a backpacking stove, fuel for the stove and a cooking pot. Although there is a wide variety of backpacking stoves that utilize a variety of fuel sources, perhaps the most common types are those that use hydrocarbon fuels, typically white gas, kerosene, butane, propane, unleaded gas or the like. This fuel is carried in containers suitable for safely storing the fuel and which connect to the stove to deliver the fuel to the stove's burners. Most of these stoves comprise a regulator system that controls the amount of fuel and, therefore, the heat emitted by the stove. In addition to carrying the stove, the person must also carry enough fuel to last the planned length of the trip and a suitably sized container to carry that fuel. As an alternative to hydrocarbon-based stoves, some people utilize wood burning stoves or solid fuel stoves. While the wood burning stoves eliminate the need to carry the fuel and fuel container, they are only suitable for use where there is known to be a reliable source of appropriate fuel (i.e., not in areas where there is much snow or rain).
One of the well known problems with currently available cooking systems is the efficiency of the transfer of heat from the backpacking stove to the cooking pot, which historically is known to be relatively inefficient. Because of the inefficiency of presently available cooking systems, the backpacker or hiker must carry more fuel and a larger container in which to carry that fuel. Much of the inefficiency of presently configured backpacking cooking systems is a result of the way in which the heat from the stove contacts the cooking pot. Generally, the pot sits on top of cage or cage-like support above the stove and the flame from the stove is directed at the bottom center of the pot. Ideally, the flame spreads across the bottom of the pot and at least partially up the sides of the pot so as to better distribute the heat to the food or liquid in the pot. Unfortunately, wind and other issues can substantially reduce this effect, resulting in much of the heat being not evenly directed to the pot and, in extreme cases even away from the pot altogether. In addition, wind blowing across the stove can result in the heat source being extinguished, thereby requiring the user to re-light the stove and losing efficiency from the loss of the heat.
To reduce the effect of wind on the heat transfer from the stove to the pot, most backpacking stove users utilize a windscreen to block the wind from blowing across the stove/pot area. While a windscreen can be as simple as a person's body, large rock or other obstruction on the upwind side of the stove/pot area, most backpacking stove windscreens comprise a piece of metal that is placed generally around the stove and pot in an upstanding fashion to block the wind from blowing the heat away from the pot and, therefore, requiring more fuel to obtain the desired cooking of the food or heating of the liquid in the pot. The typical windscreen comprises a generally solid, elongated piece of aluminum or other lightweight metal that is shaped or bent to go around the stove in an effort to prevent the wind from blowing across the stove, directing the heat away from the pot and extinguishing the heat source.
One of the problems with the presently available windscreens is that, because they are solid, they can block all of the wind from the stove. As those familiar with such stoves will be readily aware, the stove does require a certain amount of air in order to supply the oxygen necessary for burning the fuel. To compensate for the problem of blocking all of the wind/air, present windscreens are generally configured to encircle the stove with a sufficient amount of space between the stove and windscreen to allow air to pass over the windscreen and be received by the stove. Unfortunately, this space between the stove and windscreen also allows the heat to escape from the stove without efficiently heating the cooking pot. What is needed, therefore, is a windscreen that improves the efficiency of the heat transfer between the stove and the cooking pot. The desired windscreen should be able to more efficiently retain, direct and protect the heat source and, therefore, result in more efficient heating of the food or liquid in the cooking pot. The preferred windscreen should be configured so as to substantially block the wind from blowing across the stove, direct the heat from the stove across the bottom and sides of the pot and allow the user to control the amount of air flowing to the stove so as to optimize the heating effect of a unit of fuel. The preferred windscreen should be lightweight, easy to use and adaptable to a wide variety of different stove and pot cooking systems.